Parental Meth Use Testing Queensland Child Safety Department

Queensland's child safety department has hired more staff to help troubled families across the state, but officials are still challenged by methamphetamine use among parents.

One in three children under state government care in 2016 had a parent who used methamphetamine, a figure that dropped only slightly in 2017, according to new government data released on Thursday.

"It is still a problem child safety officers are seeing regularly, and something we know too many of our families are battling with," Child Safety Minister Di Farmer said.

Most of the children who had a parent using methamphetamine were under the age of five, with many at risk of neglect and emotional and physical harm, she added.

The figures show the government's response to families requiring immediate intervention has improved, with the number of department investigations beginning on time in 2017 increasing on the previous year.